Western Drought and Salmon Top Agenda for 2015 Osoyoos Lake Water Science Forum

Water can be a great glue – joining people together to help keep it clean and plentiful. The matter comes down to building relationships and understanding, so that when the going gets tough – as with this year’s western drought – we can pull together.

With all that in mind, it’s a good feeling to hold an international water conference this year in the small, friendly community of Osoyoos, British Columbia, where the town motto is “Canada’s warmest welcome.” Osoyoos is famous for fruit orchards, excellent wine, and the big blue Osoyoos Lake, set in Canada’s only desert. Just to the south is the U.S. city of Oroville, Washington, situated on the lake’s southern basin.

Osoyoos and Oroville share citizenship of the Okanagan/Okanogan watershed – despite the Canadian/American difference in spelling. It’s because of the lake that we are gathering, for the third time in eight years, to hold the Osoyoos Lake Water Science Forum from Oct. 7-9 – a joint Canada-U.S. event to discuss how to better preserve, protect and manage this beautiful water body and its environment.